A man in Alaska was saved after he clung to a chunk of ice in Cook Inlet for close to an hour.

The man, identified as 45-year-old Jamie Snedden, was walking on a shoreline when the ice broke loose, resulting in him drifting into Cook Inlet. 

Snedden “was reported to have been walking along the shoreline on the ice when it broke free and drifted into Cook Inlet with the outgoing current,” Troopers spokesman Tim DeSpain said in an email to The Associated Press on Monday.

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Snedden was swept about 300 yards (274 meters) out into the inlet, near the mouth of the Anchor River.

Alaska Wildlife Trooper Jeremy Baum arrived at the scene and saw only the man’s head and arms visible above the water as he clung to the ice chunk. 

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The fishing vessel Misty responded to an urgent marine broadcast seeking help. Snedden was pulled aboard the vessel, with assistance from the ship’s captain, Shane Balkely, and his clients.

“Without their help it would have been much more challenging to rescue Snedden and get him to EMS as quickly as we did,” Baum said.

Snedden, who was not wearing any type of personal flotation device, was rescued and rushed to a hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia. He was expected to fully recover, Alaska Wildlife Troopers said.

Authorities said Snedden was conscious and breathing when he was rescued, but very hypothermic after being in the cold water for close to 40 minutes. The US Coast Guard reported the air temperature was 30 degrees Fahrenheit (-1.11 Celsius), and the water was 38 F (3.33 C).